Page 97 of The Heartbreaker Next Door

This year was already running ahead of schedule, which Felicity declared “a literal miracle.” The entire ranch was strung with lights and mason jar lanterns. Every corner of the main field was occupied—kids on haybales, parents at long picnic tables, the grill crew in lockdown around a mountain of ribs.

Maverick, still in the throes of his cowboy obsession, had traded his usual sneakers for a pair of red boots and one of my hats, despite it being so large it kept sliding over his eyes. He’d been having the time of his life hanging out with Tabby, my oldest brother’s daughter.

I’d had a hard time accepting Deacon. My reservations had nothing to do with him, I just wasn’t great at letting new people into my inner circle, whether we shared DNA or not. But over the past year, his daughter Tabitha and Maverick had become best friends.

They came to visit fairly often, at least once a month and seeing, not only what a great dad Deacon was to Tabby, but also what a great stepdad he was to his wife Jenna’s daughter Blake made me respect him more than I could say.

Tabby and Mav had just finished the stick horse barrel race, eaten two s’mores, and were bobbing for apples. Felicity, dressed in denim jeans that molded to her ass like it was her second skin and a white tank top and the cowboy boots I’d got her for Christmas, was making the rounds with a clipboard, checking on the volunteers and making sure they had everything they needed.

I was counting down minutes and trying not to have a full-fledged panic attack. The scavenger hunt was starting in ten minutes, and I had a special card clue in my pocket and a ring, a real ring in my other. I’d been planning this for six months, and now that the time was finally here, I couldn’t feel my legs.

“You good bro?” Damon walked up and slapped me on the shoulder.

“Yeah, why?”

He gave me a side-eye. “You look as pale as Casper.”

I hadn’t told any of my family what I was planning today. It’s not that I didn’t trust them, it was just…I didn’t trust them. If one of them knew something, then everyone did. The only place rumors spread faster than in town was at the ranch.

“Just tired,” I lied. I actually wanted to throw up.

As we spoke a stunning redhead and a knockout brunette walked by, both smiling and making their interest very clear. I nodded at them, to be polite, and waited to hear Damon make some cocky comment regarding their attention and claim it was only directed at him or say something about the women needing a tour of Lockhart Ranch and nominating himself as the guide. But neither of those things happened.

In fact, he didn’t even seem to notice at all. His eyes were busy scanning the crowd.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“What?” He blinked. “Yeah, why?”

“You seem…distracted.”

“Do you know who all is here with Deacon?”

“Everyone.”

His eyes lit up. “Everyone?”

I nodded.

“Everyone, everyone?”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” I asked. “Jenna, Blake and Tabby are with him.”

“Right, yeah.” He nodded. “Good.”

I had no idea what was going on with my little brother. I’d never seen him like this. I felt like he’d been taken over by alien body snatchers or something.

Actually, now that I thought about it, Damon hadn’t been his usual “charming” self in a while. He’d seemed less and less interested in women, which used to be his entire personality.

“Who did you think was coming?” As soon as I asked the question, the answer came to me. It was so obvious, but I hadn’t been paying attention. “If it’s Mikayla, she’s not coming until next weekend for her cousin’s wedding. I heard her and Felicity on the phone.”

“What? No, I wasn’t…” Damon’s response was defensive. “I just wanted to know if my nieces were here.”

“Right. Okay. Sure.” I smiled. If he thought that was convincing, I seriously hoped he was never interrogated for a crime he actually committed.

I was still staring at him when he said, “Whatever,” and walked away.

Holy shit. I had never seen Damon bail on a conversation. His usual M.O. was the more uncomfortable, the better. But of course, he was always the one making the person uncomfortable, not being uncomfortable himself. It was nice to have the tables turned for once.